O L Y M P I C
Tainer delivers his speech at the 2012 Associates Evening.
In class at Roanoke. Tainer is studying education and mathematics.
The same willpower that helped Tainer adjust to his Cheetahs pushed him to keep getting faster. As a high school junior, he won his first track race. Tainer remembers the victory vividly. He was behind a pack of runners during the first lap of the 800- meter race. On the second lap, “something hit me,” he recalled. He took off, passing everyone. Since then, Tainer has racked up considerable track success in Paralympic races throughout the country. Tainer and Walton even visited the national Paralympic training center in Chula Vista, Calif., one summer. Walton tried to learn as much as he could about how to train Peter, though it is similar to coaching able-bodied athletes, he said. One difference is that injuries often are not the same. For example, Tainer is prone to back and hip troubles. His running strength comes from his core midsection muscles. Tainer keeps climbing the para-athlete ladder. This past summer, he suited up for the U.S. Paralympic trials, with hopes of qualifying for the U.S. team and the Paralympic Games in London. Tainer placed seventh in the 400 meters, and he also entered the 200- and 100-meter races. But he didn’t qualify for the Games. “I wasn’t upset at all,” Tainer said. “I was extremely proud of myself.” Now he is more motivated than ever. His new focus is advancing to the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. That training will happen while Tainer is a student at
Roanoke College Magazine
D R E A M S
Roanoke, where he is studying math and education. Bridget Tainer-Parkins ’06, Tainer’s sister, was a standout cross country and track runner for the Maroons. Tainer grew up cheering her on in races. Ultimately, he said she shaped his desire to come to Roanoke. Now that indoor track season is in full swing at Roanoke, Carl Blickle, assistant track coach, is working with Tainer to increase his speed. If Tainer, one of 15 to 20 freshmen on the team, can carve a few seconds off his 400-meter time, he can be competitive at Roanoke, Blickle said. Tainer’s best 400 times are between 58 and 59 seconds. Longer Cheetah blades that match Watch video interviews with Tainer’s height are a key to helping Shelley Olds and Dick Emberger him run faster, and he expects to reat http://tinyurl.com/afyr3ot. ceive his new blades soon. “He is the highest-level athlete on the team,” Blickle said of Tainer’s Paralympic experiences. Tainer will train primarily for the 400-meter race, because it is the longest track distance at the Paralympic Games. Ultimately, he wants to encourage people with disabilities. He said he’d like to start a non-profit organization to help people with disabilities discover their athletic potential. “A lot of other disabled people I know, they just give up,” Tainer said. “Part of my mission statement is to reach out to these people. There’s nothing stopping you. You can achieve anything you want.” RC
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